ABSTRACT
Background: Randomized COVID-19 trials provide opportunities to describe post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC)-related symptom burden longitudinally and assess the impact of early use of antivirals on PASC prevalence. Methods: ACTIV-2 evaluates safety and efficacy of investigational agents for non-hospitalized adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 in a Phase II/III trial. In Phase II, participants were randomized within 10 days of symptom onset and a positive SARS-CoV-2 virologic test to receive bamlanivimab (BAM) or placebo as a single infusion at 7000mg (n=94) or 700mg (n=225). In a subsequent single-arm open-label study, 1059 participants received 700mg BAM. Participants completed a 13-symptom daily diary from enrollment through Day 28. A long-term (LT) diary (14 additional symptoms) introduced after the study was underway was completed by a subset of individuals every 12 weeks. We report Week 24 findings. Results: Between Aug 2020 to Feb 2021 605 participants enrolled and completed LT diary at Week 24 [Phase II: 7000mg vs. placebo (n=25);700mg vs. placebo (n=68);single-arm open-label cohort: 700mg (n=512)]. Median age was 50 years, 51% female sex, 99% identified as cis-gender, 5% Black/African American, and 35% Hispanic/Latino. At enrollment, 53% reported ≥1 high-risk comorbidity and 0.3% were vaccinated against COVID-19. By Week 24, 14% (87/605) had not returned to their pre-COVID-19 health by self-report, with 57% (50/87) reporting ≥3 PASC symptoms. The most common symptoms were fatigue (45% of 87), smell disorder (36%), breathing difficulties (30%), taste disorders (25%), musculoskeletal pain (26%) or weakness (23%), and cognitive complaints: difficulty concentrating/thinking (30%), difficulty reasoning and solving problems (21%), memory loss (25%) and insomnia (23%). Most reported symptoms as "mild". Participants who reported acute viral illness symptoms between Days 22-28 were more likely to report PASC symptoms at Week 24 than those who did not report symptoms at Days 22-28 [51% (164/320) vs. 27% (76/285);p<0.0001]. Conclusion: In outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19, 14% had not returned to pre-COVID-19 health by 24 weeks post infection, with generally mild but multiple symptoms. Presence of acute viral illness symptoms at 3-4 weeks was associated with an increased risk of PASC symptoms months later. Larger placebo-controlled studies within ACTIV-2 will assess the potential for early antiviral therapies to mitigate or prevent PASC.
ABSTRACT
Background: The relationship between nasopharyngeal (NP) SARS-CoV-2 RNA, demographics and symptom characteristics in non-hospitalized persons with COVID-19 is not well described. Methods: ACTIV-2 is a phase 2/3 adaptive platform trial testing antivirals for SARS-CoV-2 in symptomatic non-hospitalized adults. We analyzed associations between NP quantitative SARS-CoV-2 RNA (Abbott m2000sp/rt) and COVID-19 symptomatology in 284 participants with both a NP swab and symptom diary prior to study intervention. The diary included 13 targeted symptoms and questions about overall severity of COVID-19 symptoms, each scored as none, mild, moderate, or severe (and very severe for overall severity) and general physical health (scored as poor, fair, good, very good, excellent). Wilcoxon tests were used to compare NP RNA levels between pre-defined groups. Spearman correlations, Jonchkeere-Terpstra trend tests, and linear regressions evaluated associations between symptom measures and NP RNA. Results: Participants were 49% female, 82% white, 9% black, and 27% Latinx. Median age was 46 years and 50% met the protocol definition of higher risk for COVID-19 progression (age ≥55 years and/or protocol-defined comorbidities);32% reported moderate and 5% severe symptoms. Median (Q1, Q3) time from onset of symptoms to NP swab/symptom assessment was 6 (4, 8) days. NP RNA was above the lower limit of quantification in 85%;median (Q1, Q3) was 5.4 (3.5, 6.8) log10 copies/mL. Higher RNA levels were associated with shorter symptom duration (median 6.5 vs 4.7 log10 copies/mL for ≤5 vs >5 days) but not total symptom score (Figure). Controlling for symptom duration, higher NP RNA levels were associated with better general physical health (p=0.02) and more severe body/muscle pain (p=0.04). No associations were observed with symptom severity (sum of scores or overall severity) or any other symptoms. There was no association between NP RNA and age or risk category for COVID-19 progression. Conclusion: In symptomatic outpatients, NP SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels were higher in persons with more recent symptom onset, but were not associated with symptom severity or risk for disease progression. The range of viral RNA shedding was remarkably similar across the range of symptom severity, suggesting symptom severity may not correlate with transmission risk or the potential to respond to antiviral therapy. Outpatient trials aimed at evaluating antiviral activity of new agents should focus enrollment on participants with recent onset of symptoms. (Figure Presented).
ABSTRACT
Background: Due to the substantial morbidity but low rates of hospitalization and death among outpatients with COVID-19, symptom outcome measures should be considered for primary efficacy assessment in phase 3 treatment trials. We analyzed potential measures utilizing the ACTIV-2 participant diary. Methods: Data from the first 95 participants in ACTIV-2 were included. All had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and received blinded bamlanivimab 7000 mg/placebo. The symptom diary was completed by participants prior to treatment (Day 0) and then daily for 28 days. It included 13 targeted symptoms scored as absent, mild, moderate, or severe, and a question about whether they had returned to pre-COVID-19 health. Without unblinding, 3 candidate symptom outcome measures were assessed: A) time to confirmed (2 consecutive days) absence of all targeted symptoms, B) time to all targeted symptoms confirmed to be mild or absent, and C) time to confirmed improvement in all targeted symptoms. Median time to outcome was estimated by Kaplan-Meier methods. Results: Of the 95 participants, 53% were female, 82% white, and 33% Latinx. Median age was 44 years;46% were age ≥55 years and/or had protocol-defined comorbidities. Median time from COVID-19 symptom onset to randomization was 6 days. Prevalence of each targeted symptom on Day 0 ranged from 6% vomiting to 87% fatigue. Candidate outcome B was met in median 2 days due to 29% of participants having only mild symptoms at Day 0. For candidate outcomes A and C, median time was 11 and 8 days, with 26% and 16%, respectively, not meeting the outcome by 28 days. These candidate outcomes (A and C) were associated with a participant's confirmed assessment of return to pre-COVID-19 health (Figure). For all measures, increasing the consecutive days required for confirmation from 2 to 3 or 4 had a modest impact on median time to the outcome being met, consistent with few participants experiencing relapsing symptoms. Conclusion: Outcomes based on symptom resolution (A) or improvement (C) are promising for evaluating COVID-19 treatment response, with good internal validity with self-assessment of return to pre-COVID-19 health. A valid symptom outcome measure may be preferred over hospitalization/death as a primary outcome for outpatient COVID-19 treatment trials as most participants achieve the outcome, increasing power to compare treatments, especially among participants who are at low risk for hospitalization/death.